Blue Apron, How I Love Thee!

In my last post, I mentioned how Blue Apron saved us during our first week of daycare.  You're probably thinking that I'm nuts...and while I might be, let me explain what typically happens each week in our house.  On the weekends, Chad will ask me to decide upon some meals for the week.  This should be easy, right?  Maybe if I was a clone of Chad it would be.  He doesn't typically care what we eat each evening, but I, on the other hand, usually care very much.  He could have the same few meals every week, but not me.  I like VARIETY!  Unfortunately, this means coming up with the meals, which I despise.  I love to cook & look at recipes, but only when I want to.  I have HAVING to do so.  So needless to say, it's a struggle most weekends.  

I had been toying with the idea of a meal delivery service for sometime now but never took the plunge.  I have no idea why other than I just didn't.  I guess I was a bit apprehensive about spending the money and not liking it, but I'll typically try anything once.  So I ran across someone that had a week's free of meals to give away.  I couldn't turn it down.  Fate, right?!?!

The service has two options: the 2-Person Plan or the Family Plan.  We opted for the 2-Person plan which gives you 3 different meals for 2 persons every week.  You can cancel your subscription, skip weeks and/or change meals at any time without penalty.  Very cool if you only want deliveries less than weekly.  You just have to go in by Wednesday before the shipment and let them know if you want to skip a week or change a meal.  

So last Saturday our shipment arrived, and I couldn't have been more excited!  It just happened to coincide with the first week of daycare also.  I hadn't planned it that way, but boy did it work out in our favor.

It was so much fun to unpack the box with all the fresh ingredients...all labeled so nicely and measured to the perfect amount.

(Disclaimer...the picture above is from the 2nd shipment.  I failed to take this shot of the first shipment.  So you'll see different ingredients above than what our recipes called for in the first week.)

Each box also comes with a large, colored recipe card.  It's has a nice pic of the finished version on the front with several step-by-step pics on the back to guide you along the way.  Each recipe that we made last week was super easy and fast.  We didn't even have to think about dinner other than which of the 3 recipes to make.  This was soon helpful when you have an overtired, screaming infant!  If we didn't have Blue Apron last week, I'm quite sure it would have been take out most nights.  Yikes!

The first recipe was the Apple & Blue Cheese Panzanella Salad.  This was probably our least favorite of the 3, but it was still quite good and super easy to make.

The second recipe was the Seared Salmon & Salsa Verde...our favorite of the week.  The nice thing about this service is that you have this wonderful recipe card if you want to purchase the ingredients to make the recipe again.

The final recipe of the week was Cacciatore-Style Baked Eggs.  I totally failed to take a shot of the prepared meal, but it looks much like the recipe card.

We loved Blue Apron so much that we opted for another delivery this week.  Stay tuned!

Cheers!

Grey's World: Surviving Daycare

Grey survived his first week at daycare...and so did his parents!  Yahoo!  I must admit it was a challenging week for us all, but it went better than expected.  I never imagined myself a SAHM, but when I was home with Grey those first 12 weeks, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else.  Seriously!  I was having such anxiety about going back to work & sending him to daycare.  it was crazy!  Fortunately or unfortunately for us (however you look at it), we cannot live on one income alone, so off to work I went.  *sniff, sniff*

The first two weeks back at work weren't too bad at all.  Daddy was home with him the first week (#daddydaycare), and his Oma came up to stay with him the second week.  This meant pictures and videos throughout the day...and even some telecommute days for me sneaking downstairs at lunch to see him.  

This past week reality reared its ugly head, and we were forced to send Grey off to daycare.  Monday was a holiday for both Chad & I.  So we decided to take Grey for a half day to allow us to run some errands.  It's amazing how much faster you can get things done if you're not lugging a car seat!  :)  We also stopped for lunch at one of our favorites, Affare.  #daydate  #adultsonly  It was KC Restaurant Week and lunch was exceptionally yummy.  Grey did great his first day and was quite tired that evening from all the stimulation.    Lucky for us that he has some wonderful teachers there that like to send us pics during the day!  

The rest of the week at daycare played out quite similarly...

Grey stimulated = little napping = tired little boy

Being first time parents, we didn't really have a good idea how this would play out for us at home in the evenings.  Cue screaming infant.  Come to find out when a baby is stimulated all day and doesn't nap well, they come home to you overtired and cranky.  LOL.  So we spent most evenings last week swaddling & rocking.  Once Grey would finally drift off, he slept like a log causing us to wake him for feeds!

Actually by the end of the week his napping had increased to 3 hrs during the day from 90 minutes.  I'm thinking that as he gets more used to his new surroundings, he'll nap for longer stretches, and our evenings will be calmer.  #fingerscrossed  The piece that I actually missed the most all week was spending time with Grey in the evenings.  I totally didn't expect that.  We spent our time calming him or feeding him, but otherwise he slept the whole time.  I complete missed engaging with him, making him smile, reading to him, etc.  Luckily for him, he was getting that all day long, which will make my time with him on the weekends more precious.

(Oh, I totally wouldn't have made it through this first week of daycare without our Blue Apron shipment.  More on that soon.  it was a lifesaver!)

Pray for better napping as we embark on our second week of daycare!

Grey's World: More of Our Favorite Things

Although it seems like all I do if feed Grey and change his diapers, there's actually a lot more to keeping this tiny human healthy & happy.  My last post focused on our favorite items for feeding & diapering. In this post I've listed our favorite things for bathing, sleeping & just keeping him kickin'.

Bathing

Fisher Price Aquarium Bath Tub

We're actually borrowing this item from a friend, and it's really been a lifesaver.  We had registered for and received the Puj tub.  We used it for the first month, and we found bath time to be really awkward.  I didn't feel like we could let Grey lay in it unsupported. After researching a bit, I believe that the Puj tub was meant for a smaller sink (maybe like a bathroom sink).  Because we were bathing Grey in the kitchen, and we didn't want to change locations, we switched over to the Fisher Price tub.  We sit this tub next to the kitchen sink and use the sprayer to fill it.  It's sturdy and has proper supports for smaller babies.  Grey seems much more relaxed in this tub.  Thanks, Jen!

Baby Buddy Natural Bath Sponge

Love this sponge!  Seems a bit weird at first, but it's sooooo much easier to create a lather & wash Grey with this than it is a washcloth.  

aden + anais Hood Towel & Washcloth

Let me just say that I'm a sucker for muslin...and aden + anais's muslin items are sooooo soft!  The towel is terry cloth with a muslin hood, and the washcloth is full muslin.  Love, love, love!

Sleeping

aden + anais Easy Swaddle

This nighttime swaddle has been a miracle for us!  We started out using the Summer Infant swaddles, but switched after a month for a couple of reasons:  

1) The Velcro would startle Grey when we opened it...especially in the middle of night when we were trying not to awaken him too much

2) His strong little arms would "break out" of the swaddle & push the part that wraps in front up in front of his face.  Totally scary for a new Mom.

So we switched to these swaddles, which have snap closures (no startling) and a front part that goes all the way up to the shoulders before the sides wrap around (no breaking out).

aden + anais Swaddle Plus Blankets

I told you I was a sucker for muslin, which means that I'm a lover aden + anais!  We used the Swaddle Plus Blankets for daytime napping, which helps us distinguish day from night.  (More on this later.)  These are the perfect size and oh so soft!

Fisher Price Rock-N-Play

Another miracle for us...and another item borrowed from a friend!  We started out with Grey sleeping in our room in his UPPAbaby bassinet that came with his travel system.  He tolerated this well until he was about 4 weeks old.

Grace Sweet Slumber Sound Machine

This is a great find!  It has just enough sounds to be useful without being overwhelming.  It's also small enough to be portable...and I recommend taking it with you wherever you go.  It helps to drown out everyday sounds and ensure the little one catches some good Zzzz.

I have a handful more of our favorite things to share with you all.  More to come soon.

Cheers!

Grey's World: Our Favorite Things

I thought it would be fun to share some of our favorite baby gear products from Grey's first 3 months.  This will probably take a few posts. So I thought I start with the basics...feeding & diapering.

Feeding

Baby Brezza Formula Pro

We call it the "Baby Keurig".  It's amazing...and wondrous...and fabulous...and my most favorite thing!  This produces a perfectly mixed formula bottle in 30 seconds.  It's perfect for middle of the night feedings...or those feedings in which you only have one hand to make the bottle.

Dr. Brown's Bottles

Now, we've never used any other brand of bottle.  These have just worked to swell for us that we've been satisfied.  There are more parts to clean, but we feel it's worth it.

Munchkin Dishwasher Basket

This probably sounds silly, but this basket has been a lifesaver.  We had registered for the Boon Clutch Dishwasher basket, but found it was just too small for the Dr. Brown's bottle parts.  The Munchkin Dishwasher Basket fit much more.  However, on a typical day, we use both baskets in the dishwasher...different parts in each.

Rosie Pope Bibs

We have several different types of bibs, but these are by far our favorite.  Not only are the patterns fun, but we appreciate the larger neck opening and side snaps that are adjustable.  These are the exact ones we have.  So fun!

Diapering

Graco Pack-N-Play

This piece of baby gear has been a god sent for us.  We aren't using Grey's nursery much yet, since it's on a different level.  So to date, we've kept his pack-n-play up in the living room mostly for diapering purposes.  This is the more basic version of Graco's Pack-N-Play models.  They have others with bassinets & changing tables in them.  We didn't find this necessary.  The higher level that you see in blue in the picture above works just fine for changing him.  We took it back to STL with us recently also to be used for diapering.  It's great how it disassembles so quickly and packs back into the bag without issue.  It's also crazy how affordable it is for the function!

Pampers Swaddlers

These are the only diapers that we have used to date, but they have been fabulous for the early months!  Very little leaks & no sensitivity issues with our little man.

Water Wipes

These have been key when our little guy acquired a nasty diaper rash.  We had been using Pampers Sensitive Wipes, but even these have chemicals in them.  The Water Wipes do not.  So the use of these kept us from having to use washcloths for diapering.

Boudreaux's Butt Paste

We started out using Destine but switched to this cream after reading multiple blogs.  The doc agreed with the use, and we began to use the with the other treatments.  We felt this has worked well.

Diaper Dekor Plus Diaper Pail
I really had no idea which diaper pail to choose or if we really needed one.  After reading many baby blogs, we settled on this one.  It's really been a great piece to have.  With not using Grey's nursery initially, his changing area sits between our living room, dining room & kitchen...near food.  We didn't use this at first and found we were changing the kitchen trash quite often because of the smell.  Once we put the Dekor Plus into action, it really cut down on the smell...actually holding in the smell completely.  Woo hoo!  It's also super easy to change the bags.

IKEA Skubb Drawer Organizers

We use these mostly in Grey's dresser to organize the drawers.  However, we have one or two down on the main level with us.  We currently have one in his pack-n-play to organize all the different lotions, creams, shampoos, etc.  This has worked well to contain the chaos.


The amount of baby gear out there is overwhelming.  So I hope this post helps someone.

Cheers!

Grey's World: Trois Mois

Since I posted Grey's two month update late, this three month update seems crazy early.  LOL.  Alas!  Our little man is 3 months old!

{about 15lbs & 24 inches}

{Favorites:  Singing The Alphabet song or You Are My Sunshine, babbling, smiling, playing on my Play Mat & riding in the car.}

{Dislikes:  washing my hair &  Tummy Time}

This month signifies the end of maternity leave and my return to work.  *sigh*  Yes, I did it.  I went back to work.  It's only been a few days, and it went better than expected...BUT I still don't like it!  I wish our family could afford for me to take some additional time off, but it is what it is.  We both must work.  

The first week and a half of my return to work resulted in Chad staying home with Grey.  This was his first time home with Grey all day...and they both did great!!  Chad is really great with Grey...and Grey loves his Daddy! This helped with my transition back to work knowing that Grey was home with family.  Next week Daddy goes out of town for a week and Oma comes to visit!  More fun!

Grey continues to do exceptionally well in his 3rd month even though we've had a few frustrating issues to deal with.  First off, he developed a horrible diaper rash at the end of his 2nd month.  We tried multiple remedies (various barrier creams, anti-fungal cream, baking soda soaks, etc.)  Nothing worked until the doc prescribed Mupiricin cream...or "miracle cream" as I like to call it.  He showed improvement after 48 hrs of using this cream.  Yahoo!

Grey also continued to struggle with reflux this month.  We switched to Enfamil Nutramigen formula early in the 3rd month.  This formula is quite expensive but seemed to help both his painful gas and his reflux.  We also changed from Zantac 3x/day to Prilosec 2x/day towards the end of December.  It always takes a couple of weeks for new meds to kick in, so we're just starting to feel the effects...but I have high hopes.

Despite these hurdles, Grey continues to thrive. He's either smiling or very serious.  He loves the "ABC" song, as well as "You Are My Sunshine".  He has rolled from tummy to back 3 times, but all those were "accidents".  He is also starting to reach & grab at his toys like a pro!  We even conquered a 10 day trip back to the Lou!

We're looking forward to many more good times in the coming month.  I'll leave you with a few of our favorite shots from Grey's 3rd month!

Cheers!

2016 - A Year of Firsts

Au revoir 2015!  You've been good to me!  As good as 2015 was, I'm excited for fabulous 2016!

As I look back on my New Year's post for 2015, I realized that I 2015 went a bit differently than I thought it would....good different!  :)  In last year's post, I talked about my yearn for passion.  I also wrote about not being sure how to add that back into my life.  At the time that I wrote that post, there were two main things going on.

1) We had just signed up to be volunteers with Great Plains SPCA.

2) We had just failed our 2nd round of infertility treatments.

So my post was actually about volunteering at the animal shelter & veterinary clinic...but the world surprised us last January.  In mid January, we went through our 3rd IUI (an infertility treatment), and I was so sure that this treatment hadn't worked either.  Chad and I actually went on a long walk to discuss the possibility of IVF treatments.  We came back from the 2+ hour walk with the decision that we would try it once.  (It wasn't a route that I ever wanted to go...nor is it a route that is affordable.)  The next morning when I took the test, we were both blown away.  I remember it like it was yesterday.  I got up extra early - before Chad - and took the test...expecting it to show a negative just like it had for many months over the last year.  As you know by now, the outcome was very different!  I was preggers!!

The only unfortunate outcome of being pregnant was the fact that we had to cancel our planned volunteerism with SPCA.  Being pregnant isn't conducive to helping out with a shelter.  I didn't want to commit to something that I couldn't keep up with.  Hopefully we can volunteer as a family in the coming years.  It's a goal of mine to teach Grey to be kind and love animals.  <3

The majority of 2015 was spent being pregnant.  I always pictured being as "big as a house" when pregnant, but it turned out that I gained only 19 lbs.  Hallelujah!  The pregnancy went well for the most part with a small amount of bedrest at the end for elevated blood pressure.  The best part?  None of this effected my resilient Grey, who arrived in this world in early October.  The remainder of 2015 was spent finding my footing as a parent.  The first month was the hardest, but I really enjoyed it overall.

Overall 2015 exceeded my expectations!  I really couldn't ask for anything more.  Amazing!

Bonjour 2016!!

My resolution in 2016 is...wait for it...lame "mom" thing coming...

...to be the best working Mom I can be!

As many of you know, I had much anxiety about going back to work after maternity leave. I've only a few work days under my belt, but those went better than I expected.  Our family cannot continue on without my salary, so I've no choice but to forge ahead with work.  My job as a Senior Director of a large health plan requires a lot of time and effort. Historically, I've spent many, many days working evenings and weekends.  I'm hoping to change my management style to help balance work with life.  Fingers crossed that works!!

I expect 2016 to be a year of "firsts".  Both Grey and I (and Chad) will be experiencing so many things for the first time.  As I mentioned above, I've really enjoyed "mommy-hood" more than I thought I would.  So many things are different than I imagined they would be...or I would be.  I can only hope that continues...as it's been on good surprises so far.

We're looking forward to many things this year...mostly involving Grey.  Crawling.  Walking.  First words.  Swimming at OPP.  Grilling out with friends.  First plane ride. First beach visit.  (The list goes on and on.)

With all these firsts, I can only expect this year to be a good one.  I hope it doesn't prove me wrong.

Cheers to you in the New Year!